Samson (2015)
Samson
I installed a printer and scanner on a new PC for Samson — one of three I'd taken out from the UK. With Windows 8 and Plug-n-Play hardware, there was nothing to do — just sit there, a Microsoft message telling us to be patient while Windows did it all for us. We got to talking.
We talked about being patient. We talked about patience in the Bible, and how the Bible has it as a virtue without saying what's so good about it. I thought patience was fine, but "getting on with it" was better. Samson said he thought patience was "for ladies".
But this was no macho Action Man manifesto including "lunch is for wimps" and more in the same vein. Samson is an easy-going guy: he just likes to get things moving — to make things happen — whenever that is possible. And as a general rule, that's exactly what NOTDEC Uganda needs. The polio vaccine arrives, and Milly needs someone to help administer it — so call Samson!
Samson is a qualified social worker, responsible for managing a team of three more social workers — one of them part-time. Starting as each child reaches primary school age, their job is to try to settle the children with any living family members they can trace who are willing to take them. This involves many visits first finding family, next getting their agreement and then gradually introducing the child and family to one another. Without someone intent on getting things moving, years could easily pass by with little or nothing happening.
Once children have finally been resettled, Samson and his team must continue to visit the families to ensure that each child is safe, happy and being treated properly. Where anything is amiss, they must take whatever steps they think appropriate to safeguard the child's interests. This is a lot of ongoing work, so Samson has just bought a "boda-boda" (motor-bike) for NOTDEC Uganda to make it easier to reach far flung families.
The job, then, calls for practical know-how, application, and smiles. And that's Samson!